Anyone allergic to PG?

[Jim bigam]

I have been vaping for a few weeks with a 50/50 and each time my throat gets very dry and sore. Eventually it sort of hurts to inhale, and on occasions I've even had to use my inhaler because it got hard to breathe and it felt like my throat closed up a bit.

The sore throat went away after a few hours but now I'm limited to maybe taking 2-3 puffs every hour or two as to not cause irritation. I am guessing that I have to be sensitive to PG, I can't see what else this could be. Would going to a 20pg/80vg juice solve this issue?

 

[Burnie]

Need to try both ways, Could be PG, or VG, or the flavorings. Try them alone. All PG juice, and All VG juice, with NO flavorings. Hard to do if you don't DIY, but is what I suggest. JMHO

 

[SteveS45]

Welcome @Jim bigam and I hope you enjoy your stay! I only vape High VG or Max VG e-Liquids because I am not fond of the throat hit that you get from PG.

Good Luck and Vape On Safely

 

[Jim bigam]

I think I'll try a higher vg liquid first. I would go 100% vg but I'm using an aspire k1 which I read doesn't wick the thick liquid.

 

[SteveS45]

I use Aspire BVC coils with 80/20 VG/PG all the time and I have vaped 92/8 through them from my DIY. I use 80/20 and 70/30 most often though because some recipes taste better with a little more PG.

 

[Burnie]

I think I'll try a higher vg liquid first. I would go 100% vg but I'm using an aspire k1 which I read doesn't wick the thick liquid.

You can cut high VG with a little Distilled Water to thin it so it will wick better from what I have read, but have not done it myself. Do some searching on it, others have done it and say it works.

 

[SteveS45]

To simplify narrowing down what is irritating your throat I would recommend not adding new ingredients to your e-Liquids and rather adjusting the percentages first. Just how I would go about it.

 

[Burnie]

I am not fond of the throat hit

Don't know if you have seen this, but you DIY, so might be worth a look. Nicotine Salts - Smooth - Nude Nicotine You can also get a sample to see if it is worth it for you. Just a thought.

 

[SteveS45]

Don't know if you have seen this, but you DIY, so might be worth a look. Nicotine Salts - Smooth - Nude Nicotine You can also get a sample to see if it is worth it for you. Just a thought.

Thanks for your suggestion but I use Liquid Barn NicSelect because it is tasteless and I am very happy with it. Plus the salts are new and I will wait a while before I even think about changing what I am using. If I was to experiment that is.

 

[Jim bigam]

Need to try both ways, Could be PG, or VG, or the flavorings. Try them alone. All PG juice, and All VG juice, with NO flavorings. Hard to do if you don't DIY, but is what I suggest. JMHO

So basically what you're saying is that I can go pick up a bottle of food grade PG from tractor supply and try smoking it straight, or cut it with a bit of water?

Ideal Animal Health USP Propylene Glycol, 1 gal. - For Life Out Here

It actually States it's higher purity than food grade and 1 gallon for 22 bucks is a whole lot of cheap smoke right there without any flavorings containing diacetyl or nicotine. Although if I'm going to go that route it might be better just to go 100% VG since some of its technically organic.

 

[ASilver]

The soar throat can be a result of high nicotine level too. I had the same problem with 12mg & 9mg nicotine liquid no problems with 7mg and lower. I propose to play it safe. Find a flavor you like or even better two plain bases one 100%VG and a 100%PG with a 0 nicotine level and mixture it at the following percentages; VG50/PG50, VG60/PG40, VG70/PG30, VG80/PG20. Probably you gonna need and same WFI easy to find it in drug stores. Then make a daily try to each of the samples. Not all together! Vape lets say sample A the first day and so on. Note the effect of each one. I'm sure you gonna find out what is best for you. Remember always to drink a lot of water. At my early vaping days I didn't drink any water and I had similar issues.

 

[Dougiestyle]

To better diagnose an allergy, and since you DIY, I would do a skin abrasion test with each component.

Using a sharp pin, poke a spot on the tender skin inside you're forearm. Apply a single drop of PG to the tiny abrasion. If there is a noticable itching or swelling or redness or et cetera, you have diagnosed an allergen.

 

[ASilver]

Please with every respect be extra careful when you decide to play doctor. I'm not an expert but diagnosing an allergy by ourselves using practical methods its not the right way. Better consider to visit a doctor and make an allergy blood exam that take the risk and use pins that probably are not sterilised and take the risk of an infection of any type. Its completely different to try vaping different levels of vg pg liquids and mark any effects, than trying them or any substances of a vaping liquid on skin contact. I'm not a doctor I just post my concerns.

 

[Izan]

I have been vaping for a few weeks with a 50/50 and each time my throat gets very dry and sore. Eventually it sort of hurts to inhale, and on occasions I've even had to use my inhaler because it got hard to breathe and it felt like my throat closed up a bit.

The sore throat went away after a few hours but now I'm limited to maybe taking 2-3 puffs every hour or two as to not cause irritation. I am guessing that I have to be sensitive to PG, I can't see what else this could be. Would going to a 20pg/80vg juice solve this issue?

Hi Jim,
Your inhaler probably uses PG as a carrier, so I suggest you set PG sensitivity aside for now.
My top three suspects here are Nic strength, burnt coils and sensitivity to a flavoring component.

You have not mentioned the nicotine level nor the type of juice you are using.
What power level (watts/volts?) are you using with the K1?
High nicotine levels can contribute to harshness and throat irritation.
Retail juice is often highly flavored and generally over sweetened.

my suggestion is:
Install a new head/coil in the K1.
Fill K1 half way with your favorite juice
Start at 7-8 watts and draw slowly...In my experience a longer, even, smooth draw works best. (5-7 seconds total)

Push the button: I do a smaller, 1-2 second pull to get the party started.
Release and push the button again and then begin the 5-7 second draw.



Best of luck
I

 

[Bunnykiller]

theres a difference between an allergy and a reaction... for example, bee stings, those who are alergic suffer seriously, those who arent react to the sting but dont need the extra attention...

 

[Hitmetwice]

It is not necessary you purchase and entire gallon of each PG and VG. Any decent compounding pharmacy will get you a pint/500ml. of PG usp for around 7-8 dollars. I call around to find my nearest supply and have them order it in for me. It saves a trip.

Wally World has even smaller bottles of VG usp on the shelf.
It was hard to find though so ask for help.

My sensitivity was with VG, I vaped VG only for 1 day taking note of breathing and congestion issues.
Then I vaped straight PG the next day and had no trouble whatsoever. Thus began my DIY journey.

Drink lots of water too as others have said, vaping will dry you out, but as far as smoking cessation side effects go, dryness and sore throat is nothing compared to the issues one may experience with the "Approved" methods. Cheers.

 

[Hitmetwice]

Would going to a 20pg/80vg juice solve this issue?

If you discover the PG is in fact the issue finding high VG liquids at 80% VG and higher will not be an issue and should minimize your discomfort....

However if you find it is the VG that causes your concern you will likely need to go full on DIY (as I did) because finding liquids with 80% and higher PG is nearly impossible.

The only way I can vape any storebought liquid is to find at least 50/50 or even higher PG content then dilute it down 100% with PG usp to raise the PG content. I purchase twice the nic. level I need so after mixing it is at the level I want.

Mixing a 50/50 liquid, say 30ml. with 30ml. of plain PG brings the ratio to an almost vapeable 75pg/25vg level. This at least minimizes any ill effects for me(I've been known to dilute even further so I can vape some liquids). Cheers.

 

[BrotherBob]

I have been vaping for a few weeks with a 50/50 and each time my throat gets very dry and sore. Eventually it sort of hurts to inhale, and on occasions I've even had to use my inhaler because it got hard to breathe and it felt like my throat closed up a bit.
The sore throat went away after a few hours but now I'm limited to maybe taking 2-3 puffs every hour or two as to not cause irritation. I am guessing that I have to be sensitive to PG, I can't see what else this could be. Would going to a 20pg/80vg juice solve this issue?

Did a quick read, good recommendations. Did not see this mentioned but worth a try, just vape some VG without any nic. Then add whatever. If everything check out ok, then add nic last (little by little). Sore throat, its the strength of nic or vendor's manufacturing brand problem.
Could read:
Why is My Ejuice Harsh? (Beginner DIY Ejuice Tips)

 

[Jim bigam]

Hi Jim,
Your inhaler probably uses PG as a carrier, so I suggest you set PG sensitivity aside for now.
My top three suspects here are Nic strength, burnt coils and sensitivity to a flavoring component.

You have not mentioned the nicotine level nor the type of juice you are using.
What power level (watts/volts?) are you using with the K1?
High nicotine levels can contribute to harshness and throat irritation.
Retail juice is often highly flavored and generally over sweetened.

my suggestion is:
Install a new head/coil in the K1.
Fill K1 half way with your favorite juice
Start at 7-8 watts and draw slowly...In my experience a longer, even, smooth draw works best. (5-7 seconds total)

Push the button: I do a smaller, 1-2 second pull to get the party started.
Release and push the button again and then begin the 5-7 second draw.



Best of luck
I

The juice I am using is from a local store, Puckerfish Vape. 50/50 with 6mg nic, flavors are banana nut bread and rainbow sherbet. Although I'm not sure flavors are the culprit because my reaction happened to about 6 other different flavors from different companies. The aspire k1 is brand new so coil should be perfect.

I will also try nic-free juice as all my local stores have a testing bar and every one of them uses nicotine free juice in the testers. After testing many flavors sometimes for close to an hour I felt just fine. Also, one store uses max VG and the other uses either max pg or 50/50. So maybe it's the nicotine thats causing issues.

 

[Jim bigam]

Just an update.... So far I've been vaping blueberry juice at 6mg 50/50 and I'm not getting any adverse effects. Im now suspecting it was the strong flavors of banana nut bread and rainbow sherbet that I was vaping. I'm guessing my throat probably thought I was vaping perfume and caused my asthma to act up. I will stick to single subtle flavors like fruits from now on I think.